Sony KDL-55W905A or W805A?

[cutter74]

Hi all, pretty much what the title says. I'm out for a new Sony TV and while still waiting for reviews to come in for both models, I can't decide between the two. I know the major difference between the two displays is the new Triluminos technology that the W9x series carries, but would you justify the rather hefty difference in the price tag of the W9 series over the W8?

The TV will be mainly used for Home Cinema viewing (Bluray/HD sources) and maybe some light gaming when PS4 comes out. By the way, my current TV is a KDL-40Z5500, which although turned out to be a great reliable TV, I expected way more from the supposedly top of the line (for the time) 200Hz Motion Flow technology, which was ironically a major selling point of that design. I just hope that the new 400Hz on the W8 is a huge improvement over my current TV's specs.

So, any recommendations?

 

[DistortedVision]

I think the only real answer is to find a dealer which has both and demo them to compare side by side then make your own decision.

 

[sound10]

Hi cutter74, I had the chance to see both the W8 & W9 at my local Sony centre in Leeds. To my eyes, the W9 looked much better than the W8. The colours on the W9 seemed to be much richer and I absolutely loved the look of the TV. I then tested the sound on the W9 and I must say that it was pretty impressive for a flat panel TV.

The major differences between the W9 and W8 are as follows :-

W9 uses a PVA panel most likely manufactured by Samsung wheraes the W8 uses an IPS Panel made by LG. PVA Panels have better black levels than IPS Panels, however IPS Panels have better viewing angles than PVA Panels. When it comes to 3D, the W9 uses active 3D and the W8 is passive 3D. Finally, the W9 features Triluminos backlight technology and has beter sound than the W8 due to having long duct speakers.

After seeing the W9 at my local Sony Centre, my heart was set on purchasing that TV. However, a review has appeared on the trusted reviews website which was put me off a bit from potentially purchasing this TV. If you read the review, they said that everything was excellent except for the very limited viewing angle. Now that for me could be a deal breaker. I think the whathifi team have recently done a review of the 55W905A. Let's see what they make of this TV, particularly the viewing angles. Hope this have been of some help !

 

[sound10]

As DistortedVision has said, it's best to see the TV yourself, have a demo and see what you make of it.

 

[cutter74]

Thanks sound10, you surely helped!

I also read the first review about the W9 and have the same reservations as you regarding the poor viewing angles. This could be the deal breaker for me as well. The set is intended to be used as the living room TV, and it's really important that the viewing experience is at least acceptable when viewing from all couch and chair viewing positions.Of course, the vibrant colors of the Triluminos technology and the deeper blacks you describe when comparing it side by side with the W8 would be very difficult to resist. Sound is a non issue for me since the TV will be setup with a 5.1 system and my good old STR-DB5400ES amp, and personally I always considered 3D to be an annoyance rather than something that will revolutionize the movie industry or my personal viewing experience at home.

I guess I'm gonna have to wait for the W9 to become available and check the viewing angles myself. Unless of course our friends at WHF are reading this post and are kind enough to mention something about this topic in their upcoming review

Thanks again for your advise.

 

[sound10]

Your very welcome

 

[DistortedVision]

cutter74 do they have the 55W905A on display at the Sony Centre in Leeds or the 40" or 46"? I used to live in Leeds and thought that the Sony Centre there had closed down when the two main franchises went under resulting in mass closures. It doesn't show the Leeds store when use the store locator.

 

[cutter74]

Hi DistortedVision. I'm not located in the UK but in Athens, Greece What I can confirm however is that the W9 series has yet to appear here as well, whereas the W8 has been readily available for a couple of weeks now. I asked my local Sony Centre about the availability of W9 and they gave me a somewhat vague, non-commital "around end of month" answer. It looks like we're all in the same boat and have to wait a few more weeks. Oh well, I guess good things come to those who wait

 

[DistortedVision]

Thanks cutter74....sorry I made a mistake in my post - the question was meant for sound10 but thanks for the info!

 

[sound10]

Hi DistortedVision, yes I have recently been told that there no more Sony Centres in our region anymore. The Leeds, Harrogate, Wakefield and York Sony Centres were owned and operated by one Company Yorkshire Style. Really sad news tbh, but I guess it's a sign of the times. Here is a link to their site :- http://www.yorkshirestyle.co.uk/notice.html

I'm just really glad that I did not preorder the W9 when I saw it there approx a month ago and I hope that nobody else will be left out of pocket either.

 

[Anonymous]

Techradar has a review on the W905a TV put in last night....verdict.....edges out the Samsung!

 

[rocketrazor]

Techradar has a review on the W905a TV put in last night....verdict.....edges out the Samsung!

interesting they rate input lag at 10ms, which again suggests this tv might have better input lag than the plasma tv's. if this is the case bravo Sony!

Just waiting for the what hi fi review now and then a 50" to 55" super test between Sony, Samsung and Panasonic, let the battle commence

 

[rocketrazor]

http://www.hispek.com/sony/lcd-led-televisions/sony-kdl55w905a-55-full-hd-3d-led-television-in-black-plus-free-5-year-warranty-when-you-purchase-in-store-pd-15481.php

Says in stock from 14th may

 

[rocketrazor]

Noooooooo only 4 stars, forget the super test now

 

[bigboss]

4 stars isn't "only". It translates as "very good". All the reviews that have appeared so far have commented on poor viewing angles. Make sure to check that when demoing.

 

[rocketrazor]

To be fair I think a 55" screen is going to be to big from the distance I'm sitting and my layout has us off centre viewing so I think that this tv isn't going to be any good for me, I was hoping really. Looks like its this years 50" Panasonic for me if I can get my refund on my gt50. The Samsung can be ruled out cause of the silly stand over hanging my av stand, would look stupid

 

[jimboblue]

Trusted Reviews have just released their verdict on the KDL55W905 and they give it a glowing write up, 10/10, Editors choice etc,

http://www.trustedreviews.com/sony-bravia-kdl-55w905_TV_review

I have also seen a review of the 40W905 on pocket-lint.com and they rave about it as well so as previously mentioned i would look at the set for yourself and make up your own mind rather than relying on any one magazine review. I can remember a few years back What Hi-Fi giving a fairly poor review on a Pioneer plasma which at the time was clearly superior to anything else around, they re-reviewed the same set a month or two later and it suddenly got 5 stars so go figure...

 

[bigboss]

Reviews are subjective opinions. Everyone has commented on limited viewing angles. Some have given more importance to this than others. Best to check it yourself before purchase.

 

[Deleted member 2457]

Trusted Reviews have just released their verdict on the KDL55W905 and they give it a glowing write up, 10/10, Editors choice etc,

http://www.trustedreviews.com/sony-bravia-kdl-55w905_TV_review

I have also seen a review of the 40W905 on pocket-lint.com and they rave about it as well so as previously mentioned i would look at the set for yourself and make up your own mind rather than relying on any one magazine review. I can remember a few years back What Hi-Fi giving a fairly poor review on a Pioneer plasma which at the time was clearly superior to anything else around, they re-reviewed the same set a month or two later and it suddenly got 5 stars so go figure...

Which one was that then? :?

 

[Joe Cox]

Sony KDL-42W805 review....

 

[James.hayward555]

Hi There, I too am in the market for a new Sony TV to go with my home theatre set up (Yamaha amp & B&W MT60D and a Sony BDPS790 4K compatible BD Player).

i went to my local Sony Centre to look at the 4K tv which I found to have a brilliant picture but at £4,000 it's over my budget. I then watched the same movie clip on the W9 and found the active 3D to be a little too vivid and shiny... Almost a glare... For my taste. the glasses were heavier too and my eyes felt wierd wearing the active specs. purely down to personal taste. I tried the W8 - again with the same movie clip in 3D - more for curiosity than anything else.

The sales assistant said that it was the first time he'd watched the flying fish scene from life of pii in 3d on the 4K, W9 and W8. Personally I thought the W8 was better than the W9. The picture on the 4k was best but its too dear and the big black speakers on the side - which i dont need - make for quite an ugly looking set.

W8 has got my vote. The sales assistant and I both found the picture to be excellent. It's a shame tho... All my kit is 4K ready but the set is so ugly and costs too much!

 

[bigboss]

Hi There, I too am in the market for a new Sony TV to go with my home theatre set up (Yamaha amp & B&W MT60D and a Sony BDPS790 4K compatible BD Player).

i went to my local Sony Centre to look at the 4K tv which I found to have a brilliant picture but at £4,000 it's over my budget. I then watched the same movie clip on the W9 and found the active 3D to be a little too vivid and shiny... Almost a glare... For my taste. the glasses were heavier too and my eyes felt wierd wearing the active specs. purely down to personal taste. I tried the W8 - again with the same movie clip in 3D - more for curiosity than anything else.

The sales assistant said that it was the first time he'd watched the flying fish scene from life of pii in 3d on the 4K, W9 and W8. Personally I thought the W8 was better than the W9. The picture on the 4k was best but its too dear and the big black speakers on the side - which i dont need - make for quite an ugly looking set.

W8 has got my vote. The sales assistant and I both found the picture to be excellent. It's a shame tho... All my kit is 4K ready but the set is so ugly and costs too much!

Which country are you based in? There's no 4K content available in the UK, so you've made a wise choice. Your next TV after a couple of ears can be a 4K one.

 

[BluePotato]

Hi all. I've been reading with great interest on these forums about the W8 and W9 tv's which I'm looking at to replace my 6 year old Sony KDL40W2000.

I'm looking at the 46" version. Saw the 2 side by side twice today in Trafford Centre Manchester. 1st in John Lewisand to the untrained eye I struggled to tell much difference in picture, certainly I'd be happy with either and both were a significant jump from my current TV. The TV's were showing BBC news (in what looked like HD). I also saw the 2 sets side by side in Selfridges. Here I noticed that (as reported in the reviews) blacks had more of a 'grey' tinge rather than deep black on the W9.

So overall I was more impressed with the W9, the W8 still looked a great picture to me though? It could be my expectations were very low after reading the 'lukewarm' reception the set seems to have received. I understand the different panels used and the different tech for 3D (not bothered about 3D at all - I'd be going for a W6 but they don't do a 46"). Main uses would be standard def TV, football, some films and PS3 (soon to be PS4).

I didn't get chance to test the sound, I don't have a soundbar etc - I noted that the W9 comes with a soundbar for free but to me positioning looks awkward as it looks like it would obscure the bottom of the picture? Not sure I could make it work. The price difference in the big thing, the W8 I have found for £880. Compare that to around £1450 for the W9 (albeit with a soundbar chucked in) - it's a lot more money.

Tough one, heart says W9, head (wallet and wife) says W8!

 

[rocketrazor]

The price difference in the big thing, the W8 I have found for £880. Compare that to around £1450 for the W9 (albeit with a soundbar chucked in) - it's a lot more money.

Tough one, heart says W9, head (wallet and wife) says W8!

That is a tough call, would you regret getting the W8 on the basis that you could have had the W9? Or would you be happy with the W8. Based purely on reviews as I haven't seen them yet I would go with the W9 personally, but thats just me. Appreciate you might not be able to afford the extra £600 or justify it, maybe a 0% credit card might seal the deal

 

[BluePotato]

The price difference in the big thing, the W8 I have found for £880. Compare that to around £1450 for the W9 (albeit with a soundbar chucked in) - it's a lot more money.

Tough one, heart says W9, head (wallet and wife) says W8!

That is a tough call, would you regret getting the W8 on the basis that you could have had the W9? Or would you be happy with the W8. Based purely on reviews as I haven't seen them yet I would go with the W9 personally, but thats just me. Appreciate you might not be able to afford the extra £600 or justify it, maybe a 0% credit card might seal the deal

Yep that's the nail on the head. I know what I'm like, I'll be quite happy with the W8 but it will just niggle me that I didn't get the W9. Think I might hang fire a little longer. I've missed the offer for where Sony were giving away a free Sony xperia Z - at the moment most deals involve a £200odd soundbar. With the run up to xmas and PS4 coming up hopefully they will bring out another offer/price drop to push.